Pop songs have changed their structure

I thought the proven pop structures were (and continue to be):

1) AAAA  (where similar sections are repeated 4 times) (i.e., "Amazing Grace")

2) AABA  (where B is a bridge-divergence or rest)  (i.e., "Somewhere Over the Rainbow")

3) verse-chorus (x 3 or 4) ... zillions of songs and hymns.

But I recognize a lot of rock songs do employ the: 


Intro:Verse:Chorus:Verse:Chorus:Bridge:Chorus:Chorus 


and 


Intro:Verse:Pre Chorus:Chorus:Verse:Pre Chorus:Bridge:Chorus:Chorus 


Of course, proven structures appeal more to 'common-folk' than to artists, I think (perhaps).  We artists like to 'one-up' 'common-folk' for our own ears, I suppose.  So we make things *richer* ... but more difficult to digest.

Tonight, I listened to the 'ending-credits' song for the movie "Oblivion".  It lacked both structure and coherency, IMHO; but was extremely artsy and beautiful ... with no structure, no hook(s), and no intelligibility.  Hahaahaha!

Tonight, I listened to the 'ending-credits' song for the movie "Oblivion".  It lacked both structure and coherency, IMHO; but was extremely artsy and beautiful ... with no structure, no hook(s), and no intelligibility.  Hahaahaha!

I unfortunately missed listening to that song. But DAMN I loved that movie... So GOOD!

I listen to the music in film & TV as well... there is some really good music there. Even the stuff in a few commercials is really smokin'!!!


On structure.... yeah there are dozens of structures in use but a few tend to be more popular than others. 

One thing I have noticed is that the standard 3 verse and a chorus form is fading a bit.... the new standard does seem to be 2 verses with pre-chorus (PC) and a killer chorus.

Another popular structure involves the use of the bridge. I love a well crafted bridge. It's not something that fits or works in every song, but where it does fit, it works magic like nothing else can. 

I like to try to vary the structure in the songs I write, using bridges and PC's when possible, though they must be a natural fit.  As I start to write, I really do not plan out the structure ahead of time. I write, the song as I feel it coming to me. If it has a PC or a bridge, well, that;s simply how it worked in that song. The next one might be a simple AABA form. 

I often find myself writing songs that have no chorus.... verses and a bridge...... which is another structure altogether but not very popular in commercial music for obvious reasons.... people like a big satisfying chorus.  one song of mine which I felt was well written was turned down for this very reason by a Nashville publishing house. They wanted a chorus and asked me to rewrite it with a chorus. Major revisions like that change a song totally. It's still setting in my soundclick waiting for the inspiration for the rewrite. 

I'm working on one now..... very close to finishing it, that has the typical 3 verse structure and a PC to every chorus. The cool thing about the PC is that it is not generally restricted to having the same lyrics every time as the chorus is generally expected to have. The PC in my new tune has slightly different lyric each time.... to match the verse preceding it better. The chorus is the same...... until the last when it is still the same but has a different "overlay" on it. You'll see what I'm talking about in the coming days. (hopefully by middle of next week)  I'm needing to rewrite the 2nd half of the 2nd verse, or perhaps the entire 2nd verse since I'm not satisfied with it's flow. 

No matter the structure.... when you hit the chorus, no matter if it comes straight from the verse or from a PC... the chorus has to be HUGE.... it has to have a noticeable increase in power, energy, and it has to satisfy..... with a big payoff. Lyrically, the questions get answered there, and the song makes total sense, as all the verses are now tied together. It is supposed to be the orgasmic moment in the song. All the tension in the verses and PC's are leading to that moment. 

Song structure is such a fun topic. 

Side note: It doesn't matter what structure you use.....one piece of advice I was given on songwriting from a Nashville writer was to be into the chorus before 60 seconds including the intro, and keep the intro's as short as possible, not to exceed 13 seconds (average). (for commercially aimed tunes) 

mattplaysguitar

Tonight, I listened to the 'ending-credits' song for the movie "Oblivion".  It lacked both structure and coherency, IMHO; but was extremely artsy and beautiful ... with no structure, no hook(s), and no intelligibility.  Hahaahaha!

I unfortunately missed listening to that song. But DAMN I loved that movie... So GOOD!

+1; Oblivion is now one of my fav movies of all time (like "Dark City"); I studied that song to realize more its producer fx's... like verbs, distortions, consonant and dissonant harmonies of music layers plus vox.


The vox-femme, while stellar, got drowned (sweetly) in the mix ... like her timbre-excellence became redundant for the sake of the song (or something).


Yeh!  I realize current commercial-pop structure paradigms are excellent structures to study.  I've written a lot of songs emulating them ... especially after my structure-weak songs needed uplifting.

mattplaysguitar - I'm in accord with your observation.

Thanks for posting the links to songs that illustrate what you're describing.

I think another example that impresses me with concise song structure in this style is Keep On Lovin You by REO Speedwagon.  Dated song now I suppose, but a nice example of this kind of thing.

Other things that seem to have become very irritating / popular of late.......
 
female vocalists at some point in the song going..........uh-oh
 
and repetition of lines to the point where by the end of the song you feel like smashing the radio into tiny pieces....... yes beyonce and rihanna I'm looking at you, amongst others.
 
Again, not a new concept by any means. Hey Jude was at least 3 minutes longer than it really needed to be, but they got away with it by being the beatles.
 
 

Gotta watch me some Dark City... Didn't expect to get movie ideas from this thread haha!

Someone suggested to me that dubstep might have some influence which I think is quite plausible.

Haven't seen Oblivion yet, it's on my Netflix saved list. Gattica I definitely agree with as a modern sci-fi classic. I'd put Inception on that list as well. In terms of a movie that I noticed makes exceptional use of music for mood, the Miami Vice movie is one to check out. It has some amazing atmosphere, much of it created or heavily enchanced by excellent choice of music.

+1 Droddy
+1 Kev
+1 Lawajava, Jimbo, Makeshift, G_Hacker, and all.

I'll add, structure, arrangement, and all 'might' evolve as the song progresses.

Under 4 minutes?  Well, I'm always embarrassed to submit a song over 3:55 minutes!  I know humans don't have patience and curse themselves to have to listen past 3 minutes, especially on 1st listens.

Concerning Dark City, Inception, Oblivion, etc. ... as astonishing cult productions, not commercial pop (per the Op) (except for Inception)

... we might emulate cult movie producers ... somewhat in our songs ... by violating the formulaic structures ... in favor of the onion-peeling hooks these movies employ.  

Like when you think its dub-step, it becomes classic-rock, or some other genre cloaked within.

... again, not commercial pop ... but perhaps quirky (like Oblivion) yet enticing and mind-blasting.  I dunno.

I agree with your music structure. Not having commercial aspirations gives the artist much freedom. Like you, I write songs that have no chorus, sometimes repeat verses, other times my songs have verse verse verse outtro, etc.